A WARNING has been sounded for developers manipulating strata management laws after a ruling in NSW's consumer disputes tribunal involving an exclusive waterfront suburb.

Apartment owners in the $1.65 billion, 52-hectare Breakfast Point estate have wrested control of their strata committee from influential developer Rose Group, which designed and built the estate on the foreshores of Parramatta River.

The residents last month won a case in the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal in which they alleged the developer had used a legal loophole to control the local community association.

At a recent annual general meeting for the association, residents also gained the balance of power on the executive committee, despite a move by Rose Group to cut the executive from nine to three members. Dominating the association would have allowed Rose Group to control millions of dollars of future development at Breakfast Point.

The tribunal's decision gave effect to changes to strata laws made by the Government last year that limited the ability of developers to control community associations, said Stephen Goddard, chairman of the Owners Corporation Network of Australia.

"It is a loud, ringing bell for developers who try to sidestep the consumer protections that Parliament intended," he said.

The Government changed strata laws to make it illegal for developers to demand owners' proxy votes as part of a contract of sale for new apartments. Anyone connected with a developer must declare their relationship if they want to stand for election to an executive committee.

Residents said they had finally achieved some justice and control of their homes.

"No doubt, the developer will use every trick and every legal avenue they can to enforce what they want, which is not always what the residents want," said one resident, Ian West.

Residents on the estate, home to about 2000 people and another 3000 by 2018, have been at loggerheads with Rose Group almost since the first home was sold. One of the issues is a contract to manage the estate's Country Club and retain the club's income. Rose Group granted the contract to its own subsidiary.

Rose Group said it would not appeal against the decision. As part of the club agreement, profits would be retained by the community association, the company's public relations consultant, Chris Ford, said.

"The Rose family urges all residents of Breakfast Point to take an active role in their community association, and to question the actions of the executive committee," he said.